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H. SEBELL Sept. 5, 1950 CAN Filed Jan. 22

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HARRY SEBELL FIG. 4

ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 5, 1950 Harry Sebell Newton-Highlands, Mass vassignor to 'Bell .Products 'Corporation,

Boston, Mass, a

corporation of Massachusetts Application January/22, 1947 Serial-No; 7233637 1 Claim.

This invention-relates tocans of the type which are opened by tearing-out a tear-strip-from the can body and in whichthe canbod has-anzinterior collar element with which the end closure or cover element has a tight friction'fit.

.One object-of theinvention is taprovide-acan of this type with a novel collar element which provides amplespace between itand the 'coverelement to receive the end-of ascrew driver or other implement usedto pry the cover from the can bodyafter the tear-strip has been fremoved.

A further object of-the invention is toprovide a can with an improved collarzelement whichisso constructed that the surfaces which'provide the tight friction fit between the collar and cover element will not be deformed or marredny the operation .of prying the .cover from :the collar, so that when the cover is "replaced on the can -'body, it will have the same tight frictioniiit'that it had before the can was opened.

In order to give an understandingiofthe invention, I have illustrated'iin the drawings a selected embodiment thereof whichrwill now be described and after which the novel'features'will-be pointed out in the appended claim.

Inthedrawings:

Fig. l is a partial-sectional view of a can embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 isan-enlarged fragmentary sectional view through one side of the can.

Fig. 4 is a'sectional'view illustrating the can aiteriitlhas been opened.

In the drawings l indicates "the 26311 body, 2 the end closure or coverelementandii the collar element.

Said collar element is madefrom sheet'metal, and it presents the'outer cylindrical wall 4 which engages the inside of the'can'body, and'theinner vertical cylindrical .wall 'fi whichrdelines the opem ing loin the can after the latter has beenopened and the top wall 5 connecting rthe inner and: outer cylindrical walls. The lower edge of the inner cylindrical wall 6 is rolled into a bead 8 thus providing said well with a wire edge. The top wall 5 of the collar has a stepped formation, it presenting an inner, annular, horizontally extending, fiat portion 21 and an outer, annular, horizontally extending, flat portion I8 that surrounds said inner flat portion and is offset downwardly relative thereto, said inner and outer flat portions occupying parallel but spaced apart planes and the outer edge of the inner flat portion being connected to the inner edge of the outer .2 flat portion-by emu-annular vertical Wall portion 22. r

The end closure 2 .is .of the usualconstruction which is formed-from asheet metal blank. thatiis deformed to present the vertical cylindrical wall 9 which fits within the inner-wall -6 .of.the.co11ar with a .tight :friction fit, :and also to present the flat horizontall extending-portion t0 outside .of the wall 9 which overlies and rests on the inner, annular, flat portion 21 of the collar'and which also extends over but in spaced relation to the outer annularfiat portion .18 of saidcollanthe marginal portion of the end closure being bent upwardly against theinsideof thecanlaody I as shown at Hand being,permanently-securedrand hermeticallysealed to'the upper edge of-the can body in some suitable -way, asby-.means of the lock seam I 2. Theinner, annular fiat-portion zl of the top wall =5 of the collar thus constitutes "a seat for the cover element.

The can body l is provided with twocircumferential score lines l3, 1.4 that form between them a tear-strip 15 that can-be'tornouttoopen the can.

Thescore line 13 is situated above the inner, annular, fiat portion- 2! .of the collar element and the score-line1-I4.-is:situated below the outer, annular, .flat portion [8 of said collar element. When the-caniislinitially sealed as shown-in Figs. 1 and 3, there Will exist an annular circumfer- .ential space 49 between .the outer .marginal part of the horizontal .flatportion H! I. of the -.coVer elementand the outer annular, flat portion 48 ref the collar element, which space has; parallelupper and lower walls, the verticalwallrportionl 2 Leon- .stituting-the inner wall of said space .andthe outer wall being rconstituted by the tear-strip portion 15.01 the can body.

Hence when thecanlis'to be opened b tearing out the tear-strip I5, the circumferential space =0r grooVe 19 havin flat top and bottom walls will he opener-exposed on=its outer face iforithe :reception :of :ascreiv rdriver orzother implement used to pry the cover 2 free from the wall 6 of the collar. This can be accomplished by inserting the end of a screw driver or other similar implement into the space l9 and turning it about its longitudinal axis so that one side edge of the screw driver exerts a lifting force on the outer marginal portion of the horizontal portion [0 of the cover element, and the other side edge of said screw driver exerts a downward force on the offset portion 18 of the collar. Or the loosening of the cover may be accomplished by inserting one end of a suitable implement into the space H! 3,. and exerting a downward forceon the other end of said implement, using as a fulcrum for the instrument the corner where the offset portion l8 merges with the wall 4 of the collar.

In either case the operation of removing the cover is much facilitated by the flat horizontal top and bottom walls of the space 19, because the parallel arrangement of these walls has no tendency to force the implement out of the space during the cover removing operation.

The space I9 of an unopened can is thus concealed and protected b the tear-strip so that nothing can become lodged in said space during transportation, storage, or any other manipulation of the can before it is opened.

The score lines are preferably so located that before the tear-strip is torn out, its upper edge rests against and is backed by the lower portion of the vertical wall H of the cover element, and its. lower edge rests against and is backed by the upper portion of the outer vertical wall 4 of the collar 3. An advantage of this arrangement is that it eliminates an danger that the wall of the can body will become broken through at any point along a score line by a blow accidentally struck against the tear-strip.

Another advantage of this construction is that the cover element 2 may be pried free from the collar without danger of marring or deforming either the wall 6 of the collar or the wall 9 of the closure which form between them a tight friction fit. Furthermore, any prying action which takes place in freeing the closure from the collar is resisted largely by the vertical wall 4 of the collar and the vertical portion ll of the closure, and hence the removal of the cover can be accomplished without deforming or injuring the surfaces of the collar and cover which form between them a tight friction fit. 'After the can has been initially opened by removing the tear strip l5 and prying the cover element free from the collar, said can can be resealed again by replacing the cover in the collar, and since the operation of prying the cover free from the collar can be performed without distorting or deforming either the vertical wall 6 of the collar or the wall I of the cover, the same tight friction fit between the cover and the collar will exist after the can has been reclosed as existed when the can was first sealed.

When the cover has been thus replaced on the can, it occupies the same position as it had when the can was first sealed, that is, with the horizontal wall ll] of the cover resting against and seated on the flat top wall 5 of the collar. As a result the space 19 on the rescaled can will be open and exposed for the reception of a screw driver or other implement used for again prying the cover loose when it is desired to reopen the can.

The score lines 13, and 14 may extend clear around the can body or they may be so formed as to extend nearly but not entirely around said can body. In the latter case, there will exist an unscored portion 20 between the ends of the score lines which will form a hinged portion for the closure after the tear-strip has been removed as indicated in Fig. 4.

I claim:

A can having a can body, a cover-receiving collar element located within the can bod and presenting an outsid cylindrical wall engaging the wall of the can body, a vertical inner cylindrical wall which defines the cover-receiving opening of the can and a top wall connecting said inner and outer cylindrical walls, said top wall having a stepped formation and presenting an inner, annular, horizontal, fiat portion and an outer, annular, horizontal, fiat portion which is offset downwardly relative to said inner flat portion and which is parallel thereto, the outer edge of the inner annular flat portion being connected to the inner edge of the downwardly offset outer annular flat portion by a vertical wall portion, a cover element having a vertical cylindrical wall which fits the inner cylindrical wall of the collar with a tight friction fit, the portion of the cover element outside of its said vertical cylindrical wall occupying a horizontal plane and extending over and in contact with the inner, annular, flat portion of the top wall of the collar and over but spaced from the outer, annular, horizontal, fiat portion of said top wall, the peripheral edge portion of said cover element being permanently connected and hermetically sealed to the top edge of the can body, said can body having two circumferential score lines forming between them a tear-strip which can be torn out to open the can, one score line being situated above the inner, annular, flat portion of the top wall of the collar and the other score line being situated below the outer, annular, fiat portion of said collar, said outer, annular, fiat portion of the collar element and the peripheral marginal portion of the horizontally extending portion of the cover forming between them a, circumferential groove having flat parallel top and bottom walls which, before the can is opened, is closed by the tear-strip por tion of the can body, but when the tear-strip is removed is exposed for the insertion of an implement to pry the cover free from the collar element.

HARRY SEBELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,295,540 Begg Sept. 15, 1942 2,430,036 Thornburgh et al. Nov. 4, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 463,457 Great Britain Mar. 31, 1937 

